Personal Property, but not Real Property, Was Part of Estate

When decedent deeded property to one of his four children, and there was no credible evidence of any promise or expectation that the property would be reconveyed back to the decedent, the property was not subject to a constructive trust in favor of the estate even though the decedent continue to occupy the property and pay the expenses of maintaining the property, but the “appurtanence clause” in the deed did not transfer ownership of the personal property located on the property, which remained the property of the decedent.  Gilbert Estate, 7 Fid.Rep.3d 225 (Chester Co. O.C. 2017)

Trustee Deadlock on Charitable Distributions

In a dispute between individual trustees and the corporate trustee over discretionary distributions from a charitable trust, the individual trustees have standing to appeal an adverse decision because it affects the rights of unascertained beneficiaries.  The Orphans’ Court erred in approving the charitable beneficiaries selected by the corporate trustee without first taking evidence needed to determine the intent of the settlors of the trust.  In re: John E. Jackson and Sue M. Jackson Charitable Trust, 2017 PA Super 350 (11/7/2017).

“Death Bed” Transfer on Death Designation Valid

Orphans’ Court properly denied motion for summary judgment claiming that a transfer on death beneficiary designation signed by decedent and delivered to her bank shortly before her death was invalid because it was not accepted by the bank during the decedent’s lifetime, was filled in by her agent and not by the decedent, and failed to designate a contingent beneficiary, but the court’s finding that the account was not a testamentary asset was vacated and the case remanded so that the court could address the claim that the beneficiary designation was the result of undue influence by the agent.  In re: Estate of Anna S. Wierzbicki, 2017 PA Super 346 (11/6/2017).

Executor Commission of 3% Approved

Executor’s commission that fell between 3% of the inventory value and 3% of the inheritance tax value was approved, and a surcharge for early distribution to the executor was denied when the amount of interest that would have been earned by the estate would have been negligible.  Dewalt Estate, 7 Fid.Rep.3d 200 (Lycoming Co. O.C. 2017).

Agents without Power to Create Joint Accounts

Power of attorney did not include power to create joint accounts with rights of survivorship, or to commingle assets of the principal with the agents, so the creation of a joint account was invalid and the money in the account was part of the principal’s estate.  Miller Estate, 7 Fid.Rep.3d 195 (Cumberland Co. O.C. 2017), rev’d, 312 MDA 2017 (Pa. Super. 11/6/2017) (non-precedential).

Petitions Dismissed for Failing to Disclose Changes to Trust

Petitions relating to an irrevocable trust were dismissed sua sponte, but without prejudice, when it became clear that the irrevocable trust had been “amended” and the petitioners had failed to disclose the original terms of the trust or how it had been amended, so that the court could not determine whether the purported amendment was valid. Frances S. Middleton Trust, 7 Fid.Rep.3d 187 (Montgomery Co. O.C. 2017).

Updated Software Listings

Posted on by November 3, 2017

I have updated the software listing that was originally published as an appendix to my book Wills, Trusts, and Technology, and have published it as “Software and Services for an Estates Practice” in the “Directories” menu.

In updating the listing, I also checked to see what operating systems (e.g., Windows or Mac OS) were supported by different publishers, and was surprised to find that a number of systems are “cloud computing,” meaning that the program is not downloaded and installed on a desktop computer or laptop, but instead runs on a remote server that is controlled by the publisher.  In other words, users are not really buying software, but are subscribing to a service.  One of the advantages is that these systems can be accessed through almost any browser running on any kind of a machine, including Macs, tablets such as the iPad, or iPhones and other “smart phones.”